Mission

The California Plant Rescue collaborating institutions make conservation collections of seeds and living plants to secure high levels of genetic diversity in off-site collections such as botanic gardens and seed banks to safeguard populations in a time of uncertainty. We also gather information about wild populations to ensure a baseline of information is available for future generations.

Goals

Our long-term goal is to secure the entire California flora in conservation collections, with a focus on seed collections. Seed collections stored in offsite seed banks are a critical and cost effective management strategy for the persistence of wild plant populations. They provide the raw materials for population enhancement, restoration, and recovery, opportunities for research, and serve as an insurance policy against extinction.

We strive to have California meet the conservation goals outlined in the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation of the Convention for Biological Diversity – namely to conserve 75% of the rarest species by the year 2020.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty aimed at sustaining the rich diversity of life on Earth and includes a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. Target 5 of the Strategy is to secure at least 75% of threatened plant species in secure ex situ, or off-site, collections, with at least 20% available for recovery and restoration programs. Within California, 1,164 vascular plant taxa have been ranked as rare, threatened, or endangered through CNPS’s Rare Plant Ranking program and form the basis of this target for the state. With nearly 50% of taxa already conserved in ex situ collections, Target 5 is within reach for California – a rare achievement in a region of high species richness.

History

In 2014, staff at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden published an article delving into the current state of rare plant seed collections in California. Looking at the collections held at various institutions, it was clear that more needed to be done to conserve the botanical heritage of California and the diversity of the California Floristic Province, and they identified a need to focus collection priorities on the rare and threatened taxa. After contacting the various botanical institutions in California, many of them members of the Center for Plant Conservation, the idea for the California Rare Plant initiative began to form. By the end of 2015 ten institutions had signed onto a formal Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to work together to share collection information, prioritize collections, share targeting goals, and fundraise. At the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) Conservation Conference in 2015 the group announced their five-year goal to have 75% of California's rare or threatened taxa (ranked 1B by the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants) represented in regional seed banks.

Thus far, the group has made over 1000 seed collections, including collections on over 195 of the most threatened species - making good progress even in years of drought. These collections include 73 unique species and 50 species ranked as 1B. The different institutions have added staff and found new funding sources. 2019 promises to be a strong collection year, with good rainfall helping us to build on our previous efforts to strengthen collecting programs. ​

Our Partners

Click on each logo to learn more about the institutions participating in the California Plant Rescue at their websites.

What We Do

Conservation Collections

We make collections of seed and plant cuttings to store in seed banks and botanical gardens long-term, known as ex situ conservation.

​Research

Research on the seeds and plants in our collection informs future conservation efforts and uses of our collections. We conduct research and provide material for research.

Support Wild Populations

We monitor populations and their threats to better inform in situ conservation management needs - which may include enhancing populations with plant material from our collections.